Liverpool Eye Perfect Successor to Konate as Contract Clock Ticks
Credit score to for highlighting what may very well be one among Liverpool’s most important defensive dilemmas in years. Ibrahima Konate, as soon as seen as Virgil van Dijk’s long-term companion, is reportedly edging nearer to an exit together with his contract because of expire on the finish of the season. Actual Madrid are stated to be circling, and after the Trent Alexander-Arnold saga, no person at Anfield will really feel assured about historical past not repeating itself.
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Konate Conundrum and Squad Implications
Konate has been a high-level performer below Arne Slot, providing tempo, restoration runs and energy in duels. Nevertheless, the priority round his build-up play is honest.
Photograph: IMAGO
If Konate departs, Liverpool can be left skinny. Marc Guehi was focused in the summertime to spice up depth, but even his signing wouldn’t resolve the problem alone. Liverpool would require not solely a substitute in profile, however an improve in distribution from deep.
Van Hecke’s Rise Makes Him a Pure Match
Enter Jan Paul van Hecke. TEAMtalk reported final month that Liverpool held curiosity, and the numbers again up the logic. Van Hecke wouldn’tt simply exchange Konate, he would elevate Liverpool’s build-up section.
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Timing Issues as Slot Appears to be like Forward
Van Dijk stays an elite presence, however he’ll want a successor partnership constructed on development slightly than retreat. Slot’s fashion rewards defenders who can act as playmakers. Van Hecke is 25, Premier League-proven and tactically daring in possession.
Liverpool have a choice to make quickly, and delaying might permit rivals to pounce.
Our View – Anfield Index Evaluation
Tthe logic behind Van Hecke is thrilling. Konate has been glorious on his day, however supporters have grown annoyed by his rising harm report and occasional lapses when pressed in tight build-up sequences. Slot needs whole management, particularly at Anfield the place groups sit deep and pressure Liverpool to unlock low blocks from the again. Van Hecke might remodel that dynamic.
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His stats scream proactivity. Think about Van Dijk spraying diagonals on one aspect with Van Hecke threading vertical passes by midfield on the opposite. Out of the blue, Liverpool are unpredictable. Additionally it is refreshing to see Liverpool linked with a participant already skilled in aggressive techniques at Brighton, slightly than a Bundesliga or Eredivisie gamble.
If Actual Madrid need Konate, allow them to. Liverpool ought to extract a premium charge and reinvest neatly. Supporters would demand that Guehi arrives as depth and Van Hecke because the beginning right-sided defender. It might not really feel like a step backward, it will really feel like modernisation. One factor is definite — below Slot, ball development just isn’t non-obligatory. Van Hecke matches that imaginative and prescient completely.